


The Heart Of A Renegade

by Lottery57



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Diamond & Pearl & Platinum | Pokemon Diamond Pearl Platinum Versions
Genre: Character Study, Gen, My First Work in This Fandom, Pokemon Battles, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-18 16:15:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29736504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lottery57/pseuds/Lottery57
Summary: On the edge between dimensions, two individuals stand, each from a different world. Though different in every way, now... they fight as equals.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 7





	The Heart Of A Renegade

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TokoBushyBird](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TokoBushyBird/gifts).



> For a fellow writer I know - I hope you enjoy this.
> 
> Two things to clarify before we start:
> 
> -First off, the protagonist is the male one, and I'm using his canonical name of Lucas - ironic for a Mother fan, isn't it? He will also be able to talk, because screw silent protagonists.
> 
> -Secondly, this will have a rather lengthy battle in it. For the sake of making things interesting and fair, Giratina is not limited to four moves, but all other Pokemon are. 
> 
> Anyway, let's begin!

One step forward. Was it even a step? Was he even going forward? In this dimension, it could be anything.

It was more than just strange when he thought about it. He was just an ordinary boy, who just wanted to go on a journey, meet new people, see new places and most of all... become friends with his Pokémon.

And... well, he _had_ done all that. But it was what _else_ he'd done that made this journey truly strange, and _terrifying_.

Having to stop an evil organisation whose aim was to erase existence, raiding their base, and right now... 

He'd heard stories of this Pokémon - it wasn't _legendary_ for nothing. But stories was never the same as the truth.

Nothing in his life would have prepared him for this... prepared him for being stared down by this demonic creature that looked as if it came from the deepest recesses of his mind - the ones where his worst nightmares are.

The draconic beast before him had these golden half rings, which seems to dig into its grey skin, and a crown of sorts on top, which seemed to be grafted onto its skull in an equally painful manner. Black, ghostly tendrils protruded from the back of its head with a red spike at the back of each, slowly swaying about.

And the beast itself was this mix of black and red and... it almost looked like some sort of half dragon, half snake creature. He remembered his mother told him about the Devil, said it was black and red... she even said that it took the form of a snake in their world. Just like... this creature.

But he knew this wasn't the Devil. It was far _worse._ This was the Renegade Pokémon, the fabled Lord of Antimatter, the ruler of the Distortion World...

_Giratina._

He... he doesn't know what to do. What _does_ he do? He can't fight... he has no way of winning ending this.

But... but he does have a way of ending this, doesn't he? What Cyrus himself gave him. Designed to catch any Pokémon without fail... would it work this one then?

It would be simple and quick. It was the best thing he could do right now. What chance did he have at matching this Pokémon on its terms? None.

With a shaky hand, he reached into his bag and pulled out the most precious thing he had with him. A Poke Ball that was pink and blue, with a white M on the front.

The Master Ball.

Giratina saw the ball and into its eyes set... disappointment. It knew what that ball meant. Nothing. It meant nothing would change. It was just trading one prison for another - only this one would be far worse. 

Forced to respond at the beck and call of a master, a lesser one at that - and Giratina had never exactly taken too well to authority. After all, that's partly why it was here in the first place.

And just like before, it had no way of stopping what was going to happen. It resigned to its fate.

But... he didn't throw it. For some reason, Lucas... he couldn't throw this ball. Was it nervousness? Of course. He was faced with challenging with facing this Pokémon, which was sealed away for being too _violent._

At any point, it could obliterate him. He _knew_ that. His hand was shaking.

But... that wasn't all. There was something... else. He didn't know what it was, but for some reason... he felt like he couldn't throw this ball. Not because of nerves, not because anything was stopping him, but because...

Because it didn't feel right. It didn't feel right to do this. It would be smart. It would be quick. It would be _safe._

But it wouldn't be _right._

Lucas raised his hand with the Master Ball into the air, taking a deep breath...

There was a quiet clang on the platform next to him. Cyrus and Cynthia both looked to see what it was.

It was the Master Ball. 

Both of their eyes widened, in shock and confusion. Cyrus was perplexed. When the boy had pulled his _'gift'_ out, he actually felt some respect for him. Taking the path of least resistance, winning by any means necessary... it was a philosophy he very much supported, and to see this boy actually take that on... he wouldn't lie - he held some small modicum of respect for that, even if the outcome would have been the same.

But now, he had thrown that all away. This fool believes he can stand up and _win?_ It was pure _idiocy._ But what did it matter to him? Let the Distortion World's ruler destroy him with a single blast. It mattered not to him. If anything, it would just prove his ideology.

Cynthia, on the other hand was... apprehensive. Like Cyrus, she too was somewhat confused. She'd thought that using the Master Ball would have been a smart, if somewhat anticlimactic way of solving this, but she couldn't fault why he would use it. 

But slowly... slowly, she started to understand. She understood what he was trying to do... and a small smile unfurled on her face. This child... she was looking forward to seeing him at the League. Because he was going to be something _special._

But Cyrus and Cynthia weren't the only two who looked at what Lucas had dropped, as a third pair of eyes shifted its gaze down to the Master Ball that Lucas had dropped - the ones belonging to _Giratina._

This action... for some reason, it gave Giratina pause for thought. This human, this _boy..._ had just thrown away his best weapon - his _only_ weapon against him.

He'd taken it, _shown_ it to them... and _rejected_ it. He'd given away his only chance. It was laughable, and if Giratina could understand humour, it likely _would_ be laughing right now.

But this action... it was strange, but...

It had... _intrigued_ it. This boy... he had chosen to fight it, not on his terms... but on _its_. He had silently said that he would fight... on its own terms.

Giratina looked back up, staring straight into the boy's eyes. It saw anxiety, terror, hopelessness, despair, fear...

And yet, at the centre of it all... it saw something else. Something it couldn't describe. But it knew one thing. It wanted to see _more._

A black wind howled through the Distortion World as Giratina roared, the very pain of the dimension _ripping_ through the terrain. The roar echoed through the void for long, before both it and the black winds stopped.

And this boy... he was still standing. He was still standing, slightly worse for wear, but still... standing. The renegade looked once more into his eyes and saw _that..._ it was still there. It was there and... it was even stronger.

Giratina straightened itself up, gathering all its strength. It roared once more and this time, the sheer energy broke some of the surrounding platforms, the sounds shattering through the boy's ears.

But... it was just like before. The boy straightened himself once more and looked at the renegade, as if to dare it to try him again. 

Giratina... was intrigued. It hadn't tried to kill this boy, not yet at least - that would come soon enough. But it had been trying to scare him. To make him turn tail and run, in the presence of a power he could not hope to defeat.

But he _hadn't._ He stood there, battered and tired... but still standing.

Giratina settled itself in front of the void behind it, before the black winds howling one last time.

But unlike before, Lucas could hear... something. He thought he could hear someone speaking to him... and through the bitter winds, he heard... a _voice._

_"I fight you... as an equal."_

The winds settled, and Lucas's eyes widened, not knowing what that was. He looked behind him and neither Cynthia, nor Cyrus gave any indication that they had heard anything. Giratina's mouth was shut tightly, and it hadn't opened at all. He didn't know how, he didn't know why, but somehow... _somehow..._

He knew it was talking to _him._ And he knew _exactly_ what to do.

Reaching to his waist, Lucas grabbed a Poke Ball on it, the weight of it in his hand. It felt warm, and... _better._ It felt so much better to how the Master Ball felt, no, it was something more... it felt _right._

This was it. No turning back now. He was scared. He was _terrified._

If Cyrus was right, then no matter what he did, he'd doom them all. The Distortion World would be no more, and their world would be soon to follow. Everything would be lost. 

But somehow... _somehow..._ he knew it would all be fine.

Because this wasn't just his fight. It was the fight for _all_ of them. The friends he'd met and travelled, the ones he'd been closest through it all... it was as much their fight as it was his. And he _wouldn't_ fail them.

With a deep breath, Lucas looked into the ghostly dragon's eyes, and he knew the renegade understood him.

He'd fight Giratina on its terms... and on _his._

He threw the Poke Ball.

From it burst his first Pokemon, the first one he'd used against Cyrus as well - his Gardevoir. 

He remembered finding her when she was just a Ralts, so scared of everything in life. She was the third person to have joined his team, and though she was scared, his other two Pokémon had helped her. 

When she reached her final evolution, she was so much braver and she'd become something of a mediator between his Pokémon - Lucas had two somewhat... _violent_ Pokémon that he occasionally needed some help handling, and Gardevoir was the best at that. 

Still, even the most brave people wouldn't be able to look at the Pokémon before them and not feel some measure of fear, yet she composed herself. She looked behind to Lucas, as if to ask how on Earth they got into this situation, to which he... he didn't have an answer. 

She understood though, turning back to Giratina. The renegade was looking forward to this... it had been ages since it had seen anything, and it simply loved the thought of the violence it would bring. Still, it restrained itself for now, waiting... waiting for them to make the first move.

Lucas thought long and hard before making his decision.

"Gardevoir... let's be careful."

She nodded, realising what they were up against... this was no ordinary foe. She knew she, and the rest of her friends would have to put in their best in order to have a chance. She gathered her psychic energy for her trainer, focusing her mind.

"Reach out with Psychic."

She raised one of her arms into the air, reaching out with her mind to grab the dragon - but Giratina wasn't just going to let her and it had enough sitting around. Quickly and lazily it simply moved higher into the air, and Gardevoir immediately stopped. If they wanted to do that, they'd have to stop it first.

Deciding to finally do what it loved, Giratina created a circle of rocks around it, flinging them all towards Gardevoir, but she knew what to do - she simply created an psychic bubble around herself and her trainer, and any rocks that came near them simply bounced off.

Eventually, Giratina stopped, realising the futility of it, which gave Lucas an idea.

"Fling them back with Psychic."

Gardevoir lifted all the rocks on the platform she was on, and the ones around it, before launching them in several volleys up to Giratina.

But Giratina wouldn't let its own trick be used against it - expertly, it weaved through the stones, taking delight in smashing some of them into dust all while making its way to its first victim.

"Now, bounce them off the sides!" 

Gardevoir sent some of the stones elsewhere, aiming them towards the sides of the pieces of terrain higher up where they would break, the pieces flying in random directions. 

Suddenly, Giratina felt one of its tendrils being grazed, looking to see the fragment of a stone whizzing past. Before it could react, it was being grazed by more and more stones, coming from more directions then it could react to. 

Its tendrils wrapped around its body, covering it, while more stones hit it, before it finally _roared,_ the tendrils bursting out and creating a powerful gust of ominous wind outwards that blew all the stones away.

The cursed winds continued outward, hitting Gardevoir straight off the platform and into the void below.

"NO!" 

Lucas dived to the edge and just managed to grab her hand, dangling by a thread.

"I've got you..." he said, breathing a sigh of relief. 

But Gardevoir telekinetically _pushed_ him _away,_ sending him sprawling. What was she doing?!

Before Lucas could think about it anymore, he heard a cry of pain from Gardevoir and a slam as Giratina's claw sliced through Gardevoir, sending her flying.

Luckily, she was able to catch herself with her psychic powers just in time, levitating back to Lucas. 

Gardevoir looked at him in apology, but Lucas shook his head, understanding - she'd had one of her premonitions and if she hadn't done that...

Lucas looked down at his hand... he was lucky to still have it.

Giratina floated back into the air, gazing back down on the two, slightly irritated - it had hoped to have the opportunity to take both of them down at once, but the boy's Pokémon had... protected him. 

"Now it's our turn! Gardevoir, use Shadow Ball!"

Gardevoir put her hands together, before a dark orb appeared in them, a ghostly aura surrounding it. She fired it towards Giratina, who simply slashed it to the side with its claw, where it exploded in the distance.

"Now grab it with Psychic!"

However, deflecting the Shadow Ball meant Giratina wasn't able to move fast enough to avoid Gardevoir grabbing it in midair, slamming it down to the ground. 

Gardevoir continued to lift the dragon up and down, slamming it each time, enraging Giratina all the while. It wrestled with Gardevoir's psychic grasp, straining her mind, while summoning and throwing more rocks at her.

With the incoming assault towards her and her trainer, Gardevoir reluctantly let go of Giratina, in order to make sure the rocks didn't hit either of them.

Giratina flew high into the air, looking down at both of them, and its mouth began to glow a deep violet, before it unleashed it with a deafening roar.

The purple beam flew straight towards Gardevoir, who barely dodged it in time, but was knocked away by the explosion.

She stood up and nodded, indicating she could still fight. All the better for Giratina who was diving down once again, its claw already outstretched for the slice.

Gardevoir quickly glanced at Lucas, who nodded back.

"Not yet though... wait for it... wait... now!"

When Giratina got very close to Gardevoir, she quickly made a Shadow Ball and flung it straight into its chest, the beast roaring in pain - it was the first real amount of damage that they had done to it.

But their joy was short lived, as Giratina quickly flew back, aiming to claw her apart.

"Block it with Reflect!"

Just as Giratina took its swing, Gardevoir made a barrier appear, the dragon's claw denting it just as it swung. Giratina repeatedly started pounding away at it, the barrier starting to falter bit by bit, before it finally broke, shards of light scattering through the sky. 

Weakened by this, she could do nothing to stop Giratina from grabbing her, its teeth glowing with dark energy, before it took a sickening bite out of her, over and over.

"Use Shadow Ball!"

Gardevoir couldn't concentrate enough to form the orb at its full power, but managed to cobble enough together to fire it. Despite its weaker state, it hit Giratina point blank, the ghost reeling from the attack, and relinquishing its hold over her.

Giratina seemed to be thrown for a loop by some of its wounds, and didn't go back on the assault unlike before.

"Now's our chance..."

Lucas quickly reached into his bag, taking an empty Quick Ball he had. Giratina seemed weakened - now was the time to catch it! With all his strength, Lucas threw it towards the dragon, Gardevoir using her psychic powers to guide it, the ball flying right towards it...

Until Giratina _caught_ it. Slowly, it got up, rising to the sky and in that moment, Lucas and Gardevoir both realised one thing.

It wasn't even _trying._

The dragon tightened its grasp on the ball, looking down at both of them, before it closed its claw completely, the ball crumbling into fragments. 

It opened its mouth, a violet light starting to shine once again - another Dragon Pulse. Gardevoir prepared to dodge, leaping when she heard Giratina's roar and saw the flash of light. 

But the beam _wasn't_ aimed at her in the first place. At the last moment, Giratina raised its claw - the one with the fragments of the Quick Ball, in the path of the beam, which completely _disintegrated_ the remaining pieces of it.

These balls... _this_ is what Giratina hated the most. Being in the Distortion World for so long, Giratina had little knowledge of human affairs - but it knew enough to know what these balls represented.

Imprisonment. Sealed inside one of these, unable to do anything... while Giratina wasn't happy to be in this world in the first place, at least here, it had complete freedom.

But this boy's Pokémon here... Giratina saw this boy risk his life for the sake of it, and this Pokémon evidently served him willingly. The idea of serving a master _willingly_ was foreign to it - it couldn't fathom the idea of it _all._ To it, the concept of a master was limiting.

And yet, this Pokémon willingly served... what did this boy have that made them choose that?

These thoughts didn't matter now though. On the battlefield, strength was the _only_ thing that mattered. And Giratina had _plenty_ of it. It would destroy this boy's Pokémon one by one, and then this boy with it.

With a sudden burst of energy, it flew right through the platform it was above, diving straight down towards Gardevoir. She floated away to the side, but Giratina immediately swung its body, as if it were a tail, slamming into Gardevoir. 

As Gardevoir went flying, she used her psychic powers to slow down - but not fast enough to stop Giratina from grabbing her in its claws.

Just like before, Giratina opened its mouth, and its teeth started to imbue with dark energy.

"Gardevoir, use Shadow Ball again!"

But Giratina was cunning - it had been expecting just that, and before Gardevoir could fire the Shadow Ball, Giratina quickly evaporated.

Gardevoir immediately started looking around for the dragon, but couldn't see it anywhere. She started to panic, not knowing what to do.

"Okay... Gardevoir, it'll be fine. Just calm down and focus."

Gardevoir took some deep breaths, focusing her mind, trying to see if she could sense the dragon's mind.

And... she _could._ It was strange... despite Giratina not being anywhere, it was _still_ here. 

And then... the strangest thing happened - cursed winds started to blow through the air. Gardevoir's ears started to prick up, and both of them started to hear this growl, which started soft and menacing, before becoming loud and demonic.

Suddenly, Giratina remerged right behind both of them lunging for Gardevoir. 

Both of them turned upon hearing it, But neither of them could react fast enough, as its black tendrils wrapped around Gardevoir as Giratina roared and opened its maw one last time. The violet light appeared again, and Giratina charged its Dragon Pulse once again - but this time... nothing could be done.

Giratina fired the blast at point blank range, much like how Gardevoir had done to it, sending her crashing to the floor.

Bruised more than she ever had been in any battle before, Gardevoir struggled to stand up, having to use all her psychic power just to support herself.

"No, Gardevoir! You've done enough!" 

Gardevoir tried to shake her head, but collapsed from her injuries. Lucas kneeled down, his Pokémon staring at him, as if to ask ' _why?''_ She was supposed to protect him.

"And you have. Now let me... let _us_ protect _you."_

Gardevoir looked at Giratina, who seemed almost proud of what it'd managed to accomplish, bringing its first victim to their knees, then back at Lucas. She slowly nodded, a smile coming to her face, which Lucas returned. Taking her Pokeball, he pressed it against her, before she disappeared back into it.

He held the Pokeball tightly, a sense of sadness seeping in. It was his fault that Giratina hurt Gardevoir so badly, because he was foolish enough to believe that it would really go down so easily... and Gardevoir had payed the price for that.

His thoughts were broken by Giratina however, who roared in impatience, waiting for him to send its next victim.

Lucas put away Gardevoir's Pokeball in anger, reaching for another one. He'd slipped up, and that had cost him dearly, but he wouldn't let that happen again, and he wouldn't let Gardevoir's efforts be in vain.

He threw his next Pokeball, and out burst a Roserade.

It was the second member of his team, which he'd caught when he was just a Budew. He was always very lively, and when he evolved into a Roselia, he gained a certain flare for theatrics - when Lucas got to Hearthrome and learned about the contests they held, his Roselia jumped at the opportunity and ended up loving them. 

Since then, whenever he and the rest of his Pokémon needed a break, his Roselia was always ready to entertain them, which never failed to make them relax - even two of his more vicious Pokémon enjoyed themselves.

It wasn't his best Pokemon in battle - but he never failed to help them out when Lucas needed him, and he knew he'd give it his all.

When his Roserade appeared, it bowed to him - he always did so when sent out, but it wasn't in the sense of bowing to a master. That was just his way of saying that he was gonna put on a show.

He also bowed to Giratina, or at least, he _tried_ to - seeing Giratina made him fall over in fear, because well, it was _Giratina._

He picked himself up, taking a few steps back so he was next to Lucas, looking up at him.

"Yeah... I have no idea either. But we've got to do our best. Gardevoir gave it her best, but she couldn't win. Now it's up to the rest of us."

Roserade nodded and lifted his bouquet - like hands in a boxing stance of sorts, staring at Giratina.

In the skies, Giratina looked down in disappointment. Its first victim was already weak, and now his next one seemed to be even weaker? At least it could take joy in knowing that this would be quick... it would just have to find as much violence in this as it could.

Giratina opened its mouth - but it wasn't preparing for a Dragon Pulse this time. It reached deep into its anger and love for violence, and used to it to fuel its burning rage - its _literal_ burning rage, as it launched a Flamethrower down to Roserade.

Roserade was agile though, and immediately jumped away to another platform.

"Fire an Energy Ball with as much pollen and powder as you can!"

He rubbed his two bouquets together, pollen spraying out of them as a green sphere started to form, packed with pollen which he fired. 

Giratina, like with Gardevoir's Shadow Ball, deflected it with a swing of its claw, and it exploded upon hitting a rock in the air. However, the pollen and powder inside of it sprayed everywhere, surrounding the entire battlefield.

Naturally, it had no effect on Roserade, given that it _was_ his own pollen, but it _did_ seem to have some effect on Giratina. The dragon seemed to pause for a moment, but ignored it for now, before ghostly flames surrounded Roserade.

"Roserade, duck!"

Just as the flames started to close on Roserade, he ducked and rolled, but Giratina wouldn't give it so easily, and more flames appeared around him.

"Keep moving! Don't let them touch you!"

Roserade started moving as fast as it could, weaving around the flames. It was strange - he was in one of the most dangerous fights in his life, in an alternate dimension and yet... he was having the time of his life!

He danced around the flames, just like it was another concert, moving around the flames like a horse between ribbons.

"Yeah, that's the way!"

Roserade's dancing only seemed to earn Giratina's ire, who grew more irritated. A set of rocks appeared around it, and just as Roserade dodged another set of flames, Giratina launched the rocks straight at him.

Roserade jumped above them, but Giratina immediately stretched two of its tendrils, closing around him.

"Roserade, break free of them!"

Using some of the vines on it, Roserade started hacking away at the tendrils, but Giratina payed no notice and launched one final Will-o-Wisp, which finally struck Roserade. 

He winced a bit - they didn't hurt him much, but some flames started to appear all over him.

Lucas winced as well - being a plant, Roserade didn't exactly take too well to fire, and being burned certainly wasn't going to make things easier.

Giratina seemed eager to finish the job right now, and started charging another Flamerthrower.

"Use your vines to grab something and pull yourself away!"

Roserade stretched its vines out, attaching to the platform Lucas was on. Just as Giratina launched the Flamethrower, Roserade pulled itself out of Giratina's grasp, the flames narrowly missing him.

"Now, use Sludge Bomb!"

Poisom started to secrete from Roserade's left bouquet, a sweet aroma being spread in the air, which he launched at Giratina, hitting the dragon.

Unfortunately, Giratina's scales seemed to protect against most of the poison, and it shrugged off the rest of it. Lucas gritted his teeth... they'd have to find some other way of getting the poison into it. 

Giratina wouldn't exactly let them do that so easily though, and started staring at Roserade. Both him and Lucas started wondering what it was doing, but realised too late when the ground started to erupt with power and crumble between Roserade's feet.

"Roserade!"

As he fell, Roserade stretched his vines outwards but Giratina immediately launched a Flamethrower, burning some of the vines. A pillar of rock burst from the ground, slamming into Roserade and sending him back up.

Giratina's body flashed like iron, before it swung its body like a tail again, sending Roserade towards the pillar of rock.

"Blast through it with Energy Ball!"

Roserade quickly rubbed its hands together and fired a Energy Ball just before it hit the rock, the orb blasting through and making a hole for Roserade to pass through, as he flew over Lucas.

Quickly, Lucas jumped into the air, grabbing Roserade, wincing a little as his thorns cut through his skin.

Roserade looked at Lucas in apology, but he smiled back. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. Are you still up for this?"

He jumped back up and nodded, still full of energy.

"Let's do this then! Ensnare it with Grass Knot!"

Roserade lifted his hands and lots of vines appeared around Giratina, wrapping and piling on to. Giratina started thrashing around, tossing the vines off, and firing off multiple Flamethrowers, burning all the vines. 

It then fired another Flamethrower straight to Roserade, who leaped out of the way, but he was slower this time - the burns were getting to it, and Giratina was as fast as ever.

Lucas thought for a bit... they needed a way to slow Giratina down. He had an idea - he wasn't sure if it would work, but it could help a lot.

"Roserade! Fire as many Energy Balls as you can at Giratina, and pack as much pollen as you can spare!"

Roserade was a little confused, but he trusted his trainer, and fired the Energy Balls, which Giratina slashed away one by one. Giratina was confused itself - what _was_ this fool _doing?_

However, each Energy Ball eventually exploded, showering the arena with pollen which fell on Giratina. Not noticing it, Giratina rushed forward, deciding to tear the petals one by one off Roserade, but he simply dodged all of Giratina's swipes and slashes.

Giratina tried again and again, but Roserade still kept dodging. What was wrong with it? Why was it so slow?

And _then_ it realised - the pollen was weighing it _down._

Immediately, it started thrashing about, trying to shake the pollen off, but it was no use - it had _stuck_ to it.

"Now, trap it again with Grass Knot!"

Vines appeared around Giratina once more, but this time it wasn't able to burn them fast enough, and they ensnared it, pulling it down to the ground, where it landed with a crush.

"Sludge Bomb, straight into Giratina's skin!"

Roserade rushed towards the dragon, who was thrashing on the ground, trying to get the vines off of it, while quickly secreting poison from its red bouquet. He flung the unsanitary sludge at Giratina, aiming for its flesh, getting a direct hit.

Giratina gave a small groan, before continuing its thrashing about, still struggling with the vines, and Roserade was piling more to trap it, giving Lucas the perfect opportunity for a capture.

This time, Lucas picked a Dusk Ball - these were supposed to work better in dark areas, and you couldn't get more dark than in the Distortion World. He threw it, and Giratina, so distracted with the vines, couldn't react fast enough to grab the ball, which hit it the tail.

Giratina went flying into the Dusk Ball, with a roar, as it landed on the ground. Lucas and Roserade both looked at the ball in anticipation, but as fast as Giratina flew into the Dusk Ball, it burst out, roaring in anger over being caught off guard.

It was no longer covered in vines, having been freed of them when it was briefly in the Dusk Ball, but it still had the pollen on it. It took off into the sky, charging a Dragon Pulse this time, which it fired into the air, as if it were attempting a war cry.

Roserade immediately backed off, clearly scared of the dragon who seemed to be even more vicious, but it immediately thrusted towards Roserade, slamming into it. Roserade used its vines to swing across to Lucas, but Giratina was still on the move, with a claw emerging from the shadows to swipe Roserade.

"Wrap it with your vines!"

As Giratina swiped with one claw wreathed in shadow, Roserade trapped the claw with his vines - but Giratina still had another claw, and with it, slashed Roserade, shredding some of its petals.

Roserade kneeled down, looking at the dragon above him, whose mouth was glowing orange, ready to end this.

"Disrupt it with Energy Ball!"

Roserade fired off Energy Balls as fast as he could at the dragon - but Giratina didn't even bother to dodge them, letting them slam into it, one by one. It only seemed slightly dazed by it all.

Lucas realised they needed something stronger... guess it was time for _that._

"Roserade, stop! Gather as much light as you can!"

Roserade immediately understood what Lucas was thinking, and raised both his bouquets to the sky, trying to gather as much light as he could - which wasn't very much at all in the Distortion World. 

Still, he gathered as much as he could, creating a bright orb above his head.

"Now! Solar Beam!"

Roserade held the orb in front of it, thrusting it forward as a bright beam emerged, just as Giratina fired its Flamethrower. The two collided in mid air, seemingly equally matched.

But Roserade was struggling - he hadn't managed to gather much light in the first place and the ruler of the Distortion World was no weakling itself.

His knees started to buckle as the beam grew less bright, a sign that was weakening, all while Giratina's flames grew brighter and hotter, still having plenty of energy.

However, at the last second, Giratina's flames grew colder and Roserade suddenly seemed to _overcome_ it, the Solar Beam flying through the flames and exploding.

But when it did, Lucas didn't see Giratina... at _all._

"What... what happened?!"

Lucas was amazed - Roserade was strong, but strong enough to completely _disintegrate_ the ruler of the Distortion World? Something didn't seem right...

Then... the cursed winds started to howl once more, and Lucas realised that Giratina had used the confusion of the attack to disappear once again.

Just like before, Giratina emerged from the shadows right under Roserade, launching towards Roserade.

"Look out beneath you!"

But it was too late. Caught off guard, Giratina flew up, slashing Roserade on the way, beginning a relentless assault on Roserade, tearing off the petals on his heads and bouquets, before a set of rocks appeared around Giratina, which all flew towards Roserade, sending it back down where the rocks all crashed on it. 

"Roserade, no!"

Lucas immediately rushed towards Roserade, getting rid of the rocks as fast as he could, the bouquet Pokemon lying underneath, with many burns and scratches on him, the petals on both bouquets having been torn nearly to shreds.

Lucas picked him up, smiling in relief that he was okay, even if he was in no shape to battle anymore. He looked back up, holding its head down as if to apologise for not giving his best performance.

"Are you kidding? I think that was your best performance yet! Get some rest... you deserve it."

He pressed his Pokeball to his forehead, and Roserade disappeared back inside of it, Giratina giving its signature victory roar. 

Lucas's hands trailed around the four Pokeballs containing his remaining Pokémon, wondering which one to send out next. Gardevoir and Roserade had both done their best, but Giratina didn't look too much worse for wear. Its endurance was simply something else - of course, it was a _legendary_ Pokemon.

Based on Giratina's draconic appearance and its affinity with Dragon Pulse, Lucas guessed it was a Dragon type, which gave him two choices right now - he could either match endurance with endurance or try and break through it with a similar kind of strength...

In the end, Lucas decided to go with the former, and threw his third Pokeball, which burst open and out came a Bronzong.

As soon as it appeared, it started to float off the ground with its psychic powers, seeing Giratina. Unlike Gardevoir and Roserade, Bronzong didn't seem too fazed by the ghostly dragon - that was something that was always the case with it.

Bronzong was the most stoic and calm amongst his team, it didn't react to much and was somewhat of a loner towards the rest of them. Despite that, it was far from unkind or unfeeling - it simply expressed itself less, which Lucas and his other Pokémon had come to understand.

Stoic as it may be, it was still an invaluable member on his team, for it certainly had the best endurance of them all - perhaps even enough to outlast Giratina.

"Bronzong, we're gonna need your defence now. Giratina's really tough, but I know you are as well. Think you can do this?"

Bronzong raised its arms up and down in reply.

Giratina, not being one to wait around, immediately dived towards the two, wrapping its black tendrils around Bronzong, and head butting it over and over.

But Bronzong didn't react to this one bit, letting Giratina waste its energy, as it continued to headbutt Bronzong. Eventually, it paused, giving them an opportunity.

"Alright, electrify yourself with Charge Beam!"

With its ability to manipulate electromagnetic waves, Bronzong concentrated a charge through itself, mildly tickling it, but doing a lot more to Giratina who was holding Bronzong, and electrocuting it. With a roar of pain, Giratina released Bronzong, its tendrils somewhat singed.

In retaliation, Giratina fired a Dragon Pulse, which pushed Bronzong back a little in the air, but still didn't bruise it too badly.

"Bronzong, pound into Giratina with your arms!"

Bronzong straightened itself up, lifting its arms and flying towards Giratina. Still somewhat winded from having just fired a Dragon Pulse, Giratina couldn't do anything before Bronzong bashed its scales as hard as it could. 

As Bronzong swung its right arm again, Giratina matched it with a swing of its claws, hitting it back. The two continued their clash for some time, relatively matched - Giratina might have been stronger than Bronzong, but Bronzong's arms _were_ made of _steel,_ and even the mighty Giratina would have some trouble smashing through that.

Eventually, Giratina raised all of its tendrils, preparing to slam them all into Bronzong at once, and in that moment, Lucas gave his command.

"Slam into it with Gyro Ball!"

Bronzong started to spin, launching itself into Giratina just as it slammed its tendrils down, but the momentum Bronzong already had out balanced the force from Giratina's slam. It continued on its path, ramming into Giratina and bouncing off, though not as hard as it could have been. 

As Bronzong drifted off, slightly dazed by the past set of attacks, Giratina quickly took the opportunity to struck, preparing a Flamethrower.

Lucas winced - Giratina may be a vicious and uncontrolled Pokemon, but it was still cunning and had figured out a good course of attack.

Thankfully, Lucas had prepared for this kind of situation.

"Light Screen, now!"

Bronzong raised its arms in the air, and a barrier of light appeared in front of it, as Giratina launched its Flamethrower. The Light Screen protected against it, but only just, coming close to breaking.

Lucas noticed that Bronzong was having some trouble stabilising itself... it was starting to get a bit winded. 

"Bronzong, come back down! Save your energy!"

Bronzong did so, flying back down its Trainer, using Charge Beam to regain some energy.

Giratina kept up the assault however, forcing Bronzong to use more Light Screens, until it finally took a moment to breathe.

"Now ram into it as hard as you can with Gyro Ball!"

Bronzong started spinning towards Giratina again, but the ghostly dragon was prepared for it this time and _caught_ it, while Bronzong still kept spinning, digging into its skin bit by bit. With a growl, Giratina lifted Bronzong above its head and threw it away, the totem Pokemon spinning out of control.

From the ground near Lucas, a stone pillar emerged and Bronzong smashed into the side of it, completely stuck.

Seeing an opportunity, Giratina once again started to build fire up, but it was brighter and hotter than just a normal Flamethrower... it was something _much_ more powerful, which Lucas took notice of.

There was no way Bronzong could move out of the way in time - speed _wasn't_ its strong suit, and a Light Screen wouldn't be able to block whatever this was either.

Then Lucas had an idea - why not use the environment instead?

"Bronzong, use Extrasensory and the rocks to block this!"

Bronzong didn't understand what Lucas meant at first, but quickly realised. It bashed the rock it was embedded in with its arms, bits of it breaking off. 

Giratina, realising what they were doing, immediately shot the Fire Blast, which expanded as it flew to Bronzong.

Using Extrasensory, Bronzong lifted those pieces and hurled them all towards the Fire Blast, which exploded upon impact, the explosion shattering through the rock Bronzong was embedded in, as well as knocking Bronzong back, the fire burning it a little. 

Smoke covered the air once again, which immediately worried Lucas - Giratina had a habit of striking through the darkness.

"Bronzong, watch out... Giratina could strike at any moment."

Suddenly, with a war cry of terror, Giratina emerged from the smoke, its mouth wide open and teeth shining with dark energy.

"Iron Defence!"

Bronzong stretched its arms to the side as it gleamed becoming harder, and just in time as Giratina took a large bite out of it, doing a lot of damage - but not to _Bronzong_.

There was a nasty crunch as bones broke and a sickening roar of pain from Giratina, as it immediately moved back, its tendrils wrapped around its mouth that was now in excruciating pain.

Lucas felt rather sorry for it, but it had to be done - and this presented an opportunity. While Giratina was reeling in pain, Lucas took the chance.

"Bronzong! Let's finish this, with an electrified Gyro Ball!"

Bronzong started spinning once more time, as it prepared something Lucas and it had been working on for a long time. By using Charge Beam and Bronzong's steel nature, they could use it to store large amounts of energy within itself, which it could release all at once. Combined with Gyro Ball, _well..._

Electricity started to spark as Bronzong released the charge stored within it, all while spinning. Suddenly, it took off, rocketing towards Giratina, who, preoccupied with its broken teeth, didn't notice the electrified mass of spinning steel hurtling towards it.

It tried to grab it like it had before, but the pain it was currently in, the small time it had to react and the speed Bronzong was flying at towards it all meant it couldn't do so, and Bronzong crashed into it, electricity surging into Giratina's body. 

While its scales normally granted it a measure of protection against this kind of thing, the force of the attack was too much and _broke_ a few of them, allowing the electricity to surge directly into its skin.

If Giratina was in pain before, it was in even more pain after this, as Bronzong and it both went crashing into the pillar Giratina had made before with Stone Edge.

Bronzong was able to pick itself up, though with some trouble - the electricity, crashing into Giratina, along with all the blows it had taken from Giratina had taken a toll on it, with multiple dents being visible.

"Good job, Bronzong!"

Lucas was ecstatic over how well that went, and Bronzong raised its hands up and down in celebration, proud of the praise it had received.

Giratina, on the other hand, still had not recovered yet, and Lucas had taken out an Ultra Ball.

Giratina finally regained its senses, but the Poke Ball hit it straight on, and in Giratina went.

The ball fell to the floor, and both trainer and Pokémon watched in anticipation. It shook once -

"GRRRR!"

And Giratina broke free.

Lucas looked in disappointment - he thought that might have done it. But then, he remembered - the ball _had_ shook once this time. Giratina, slowly but surely, _was_ getting weaker.

However, you wouldn't be able to tell that just by looking at Giratina - despite some injuries and a few of its scales being broken, it still looked fairly well. 

Nor would you be able to tell from how Giratina acted - after it came out of the ball, it spent a _minute_ giving deafening roars, while firing Dragon Pulses haphazardly, destroying parts of the Distortion World in the process.

It wouldn't be right to say Giratina was angry - because Giratina was _always_ in a perpetual state of anger. But _now?_

Giratina was well and truly _pissed_. 

It had been beaten by three separate Pokémon and caught off guard a number of times, which had even let it been trapped twice. And that was in addition to all the injuries it had taken, including being poisoned, losing some of its scales, and breaking its _teeth._

An ominous wind blew strongly through the Distortion World, small specks flying off of Giratina, before it launched a Flamethrower towards Bronzong. It was able to quickly put up a Light Screen around itself, but it was only barely able to withstand the flames of the dragon, and couldn't completely protect Bronzong from the heat either.

Giratina showed no signs of stopping either, moving towards Bronzong, while continuing the Flamethrower. As it got nearer, the flames spread out less and less, and so were more concentrated, straining the Light Screen more and more until it finally broke.

Giratina immediately seized the opportunity by taking a deep breath and launching a Fire Blast at Bronzong which hit it dead centre.

"Bronzong, you've get to stay in there! Giratina's going to try and disappear soon - you have to watch for it!"

But Lucas's predication proved to be correct as a moment later, Giratina dispersed into the shadows once more.

Without a moment's notice, Giratina reemerged, flying towards Bronzong.

"Stop it with Extrasensory!"

Bronzong shut its eyes and then quickly opened them, sending a wave of psychic energy towards the dragon which made it flinch for a moment, but after that, Giratina kept moving and wrapped its tail around Bronzong, while its six tendrils all cloaked with ghostly energy and started pounding into Bronzong.

"Bronzong, use your arms to block and fight back!"

Bronzong did so, but it couldn't help much - two arms against Giratina's _six_ spectral appendages was unbalanced to begin with, and that's before Giratina unveiled something it had been hiding all this time.

As Bronzong punched Giratina back, its arms seemed to go through it. For the first time, the stoic Pokémon was actually rather startled, trying again and again, but each time, its arms passed right through, as if Giratina was a gas.

So startled it was, that Giratina was able to easily resume pummelling it, before throwing it in Lucas's direction, the totem spinning out of control towards Lucas.

Without a second thought, Lucas immediately moved into Bronzong's path, catching it as it came flying. Lucas went flying back, almost falling off the platform he was on himself, but just managed to stabilise himself.

"Bronzong... you're alright..."

But the fight wasn't over yet. Giratina was high in the sky, preparing another Fire Blast, aiming towards Bronzong and _Lucas._

Giratina had refrained from harming this boy until now, but it was infuriated, and cared not now whether this boy lived or died. 

Bronzong's eyes turned a deep red as Lucas started to hear what sounded like a bell ringing from it, as it surged with electricity and charged towards Giratina as fast as it could.

"What are you... NO! Don't do it!"

But Bronzong continued along its path as Giratina unleashed its Fire Blast. Bronzong made no attempt to dodge it to protect Lucas, and the five figured set of flames collided right into it.

When the smoke cleared, a mass of steel fell from the sky, hitting the ground near Lucas, who dashed towards it.

Of course, it was Bronzong, many dents and cracks visible in its steel body, with its left arm hanging loosely, the area where the two arms connected having snapped in half. The other arm had fused with its body due to the heat, and Bronzong itself could no longer float.

It looked at Lucas, it's eyes turning from red to blue as it let out a few sounds, the sounds of a bell ringing slowly, as if to ask if it was over.

"No... Giratina's still standing. But it's still not over yet for us. You did brilliantly. Take a good rest."

Bronzong lifted its left arm to Lucas, who took it with his own hand. Bronzong moves it up and down, trying to shake it, which made Lucas laugh - Roserade and his starter often did that, and he knew Bronzong had tried to do the same with its arms as well. It looks like it finally succeeded.

Lucas took the Poke Ball and fist bumped Bronzong with it, who flew back in. Once again, this was met with Giratina's signature roar of victory, who was feeling particularly proud of itself - despite some slip ups, it had _cleaved_ through _half_ of the boy's Pokémon, and soon enough, it would finish the job.

However, Lucas was anything _but_ happy. Three of his Pokémon had all gone down to Giratina, and while they had each done very well - he would _never_ downplay their efforts, Giratina was still going strong and didn't look like it would be running out of steam anytime soon.

It made Lucas twitch in anger - this ruthless dragon had taken out three of his friends and almost him just now, for which Bronzong sacrificed itself.

And even more, Giratina had these weird abilities Lucas couldn't begin to understand. Just now, Bronzong's punches were going right though it, as if it were incorporeal or something. And all throughout their battle, Giratina had been disappearing into the shadows and then re-emerging whenever it pleased.

Wait... was it possible that Giratina was a _ghost?_

Lucas looked back up at Giratina, who for the most part was just roaring and firing off Dragon Pulses into the distance. He was fairly sure of Giratina's draconic nature - it was as violent, if not _more_ violent than dragons usually were, and Lucas himself had first hand experience dealing with them.

However, he hasn't considered Giratina's _ethereal_ nature. He remembered hearing that Giratina, along with Dialga and Palkia, each represented some cosmic elements - Dialga was time, Palkia was space and Giratina was antimatter.

But he also remembered hearing that they were supposed to represent the three main states of matter - Dialga would be solid, Palkia would be liquid... so that mean Giratina would be a _gas?_

And ghosts were like gases, weren't they? Unable to touched - heck, the _Gastly_ line were a group of haunted _gases._

Lucas thought about it for a bit and he realised it made sense - Gardevoir and Roserade had both been either scared or terrified with Giratina. And while that could just be because it was _Giratina,_ Lucas remembered that Gardevoir and Roserade were also scared of the ghosts in the Lost Tower, the former in particularly being weak to them.

Even Bronzong was somewhat scared of Giratina, and it was the most stoic of them all. Combined with Giratina's ability to become incorporeal at a whim, along with its penchant of striking from the shadows, and the picture become very clear for Lucas - Giratina must be a Ghost type in addition to a Dragon type.

The thought of it made Lucas shiver - he wasn't scared of the kind of ghosts you tell stories about, but ghost Pokémon could very cruel. So a ghost _dragon?_ That certainly scared Lucas quite a bit.

But Lucas couldn't afford to be worried now. He had to continue this battle, and win it, for the sake of everyone. Giratina was getting more and more violent... if that was the case, he'd need to take things up a notch. 

And Lucas thought he had the perfect choice. This Pokemon was definitely his most ruthless one - not his most _powerful_ one, as that honour went to a _different_ member, but it was certainly the most _ruthless._ And if Giratina was a Ghost type as he'd suspected, this would go even better.

Lucas threw the Pokeball and out of it burst a quadrupedal black hound, with long and thick horns - a male Houndoom, and his fourth member on the team.

Lucas had found this Houndoom as a Houndour, where it was trying to help another Houndour, who was injured after a hunt. Lucas, having stocked up with many Potions in case one of his Pokémon got injured, decided to help them both out, healing both of them, who led Lucas to their chief Houndoom, who was thankful for the return of its two children. 

The Houndour that wasn't injuried wanted to go with Lucas, who gladly welcomed it along with the rest of his group, despite what his scary evolution looked like.

Even as a Houndour, he could be scary, sometimes alienating the rest of the group, and that was only amplified once it evolved. In fact, one of Lucas's _other_ Pokemon was similar to Houndoom, and the two got on well, though they could often make for a lot of trouble - good thing Gardevoir was there to help mediate any conflicts.

Despite that, Houndoom was fiercely loyal to Lucas and had nothing but the utmost respect for its trainer - which is why it immediately growled upon entering, seeing its Trainer with quite a few scratches and bruises on it. It growled quietly but deeply, as if to ask who did this.

"Look behind you."

Houndoom turned and saw the perpetrator - Giratina, of course. It growled deeply at Giratina, who roared back in response. Houndoom just gave one of its signature howls in return, which echoed through the void.

Giratina was mildly impressed - it had seen how all the other Pokémon had reacted in fear towards it, but here it had one that ignored that completely. It could tell they were two of a kind - both ruthless creatures who excelled at violence.

But there was one difference Giratina remembered - _it_ was bound to _no one,_ while this Houndoom _was._ Again, it gave Giratina pause - here was a creature like it, and yet it chose to submit to another? 

"Alright, Houndoom... I need your help. Show Giratina just what you've got."

Giratina immediately started things off by targeting its focus at Houndoom, and the ground started to crumble. 

"Jump away!"

Houndoom leaped away just as the ground burst, but in the midst of its jump, Giratina created a series of stones with Ancient Power, flinging them to Houndoom, striking it mid air and knocking back him back.

Giratina charged towards Houndoom, making to swing its tail.

"Intercept with Crunch!"

At the last second, Houndoom's mouth cloaked in dark energy, as it sunk its teeth into Giratina's tail. The dragon's scales provided some protection, but it still felt the brunt of the attack. Giratina flung its tail around, slamming Houndoom against the ground multiple times, forcing him to let go.

Giratina rose back up, quickly firing a Dragon Pulse, which Houndoom barely dodged... it was strange - Giratina seemed as fast and furious as ever, but he thought Roserade slowed it down with his pollen.

Wait... during its fight with Bronzong, it had blown off all the pollen with Ominous Wind. Giratina was still fast, and Houndoom wouldn't be able to keep up.

But then Lucas remembered something he'd recently taught Houndoom... something which could prove to be very useful here, though it was a bit of a gamble.

"Houndoom! Use Secret Power!"

Houndoom stopped and looked up at Giratina, while ghostly wisps in the air seemed to flicker around him, gathering together. Secret Power was supposed to draw power from the surroundings - for instance, Lucas had seen that Houndoom, despite being a _fire_ hound, was able to draw the power of water when near a lake with this.

It was certainly quite the gamble... but what would happen if Houndoom used it in the _Distortion World?_

The ghostly wisps grew brighter and brighter around Houndoom, as he rose his head and howled. Giratina stopped, intrigued as to what was going on... for some reason, it could feel a familiar energy radiating off of Houndoom... wait... it was _their_ energy! 

Suddenly, the wisps flew into Houndoom, as it rushed towards Giratina, smashing into it with its horns. Giratina could feel the energy of violence flowing into this... how had this Pokemon managed to tap into their own power?

Houndoom continued its assault, fueled with the energy from the Distortion World, as Giratina tried to mount a counterattack, failing to keep up with Houndoom at first, having been caught off guard, but eventually adjusting.

But Houndoom couldn't sustain this energy forever - it wasn't Giratina, and the energy slowly started to fade away, as Giratina saw an opportunity and smashed it away, rising into the sky, not doing anything at first.

In truth, Giratina was actually moderately impressed - this Pokemon was ruthless and violent, just like it was, and it had proven to be somewhat of an interesting match for it, unlike the other three.

Well... as much as Giratina hated to admit it, those Pokemon _had_ been worthy opponents in their own right.

But Giratina also knew that it would have to start using all of the tricks it had... it was time to show this boy and this Pokemon one of its favourite, for it was a tool of pure destruction.

Giratina stayed in the sky, doing nothing but charging an orange orb in its mouth. But it wasn't the same kind it used for any of its fire based attacks - no, it seemed something different, and radiating a strange energy.

With a roar, Giratina fired the orb into the sky, where it burst into a dazzling explosion, many smaller meteors flying outwards and bombarding everything around the dragon.

They tore through much of the Distortion World, and some of them even hit Houndoom, exploding on impact with devastating force. When the assault finally stopped, Lucas gasped, seeing many bruises and burn marks on it.

"Houndoom... can you still fight?"

His legs shook a bit, before he stabilised himself, giving a howl to show that he was still ready to fight. 

Lucas looked up at Giratina, noticing that it looked a bit... winded? Whatever that attack was, it was certainly something powerful - maybe to the point where it had weakened Giratina a bit. 

"Now's our chance. Dark Pulse, full force!"

Houndoom opened its mouth as an orb of dark energy begun to charge, before it bowled and fired a pulse of dark thoughts at Giratina. The ghostly dragon, winded after its use of Draco Meteor, was barely able to raise its tendrils to protect itself, before it was stricken by the horrible aura.

Using its pain to fuel its violent nature, Giratina recovered itself and fired a Dragon Pulse in response.

"Counter with Flamethrower!"

Houndoom growled and then breathed its toxic filled fire at Giratina, the two attacks colliding in mid air. The two seemed fairly matched, neither one having any significant advantage over the other. 

Until Lucas thought he heard a sound - he thought he heard something _shaking._ Quickly, he looked at Houndoom, seeing the ground beneath begin to crumble once again. 

"Houndoom, jump!"

Houndoom leaped into the air, Giratina's Dragon Pulse soaring past where it was as the ground beneath Houndoom erupted in energy. That worked just fine for Giratina though - once again, it created a circle of rocks, and flung them towards Houndoom.

But Lucas wouldn't let the same trick work twice - he had an idea now.

"Jump on the rocks!"

Houndoom, though somewhat unsure about this, trusted his trainer and landed _on_ one of the rocks Giratina had sent.

"Now, make your way up them!"

Houndoom got the idea then though - quickly, it leapt from rock to rock, surprising Giratina, who wasn't expecting that.

As it furiously flung more rocks at Houndoom, Giratina sent burst of flames toward the hound, but he just dodged them all, climbing higher and higher, until with one final leap, he rose above Giratina.

"Dark Pulse, straight into Giratina's face!"

Giratina tried to wrap its tendrils around its foe, but Houndoom was quicker and fired another pulse filled with dark aura straight down into the dragon's eyes.

It let out a roar as it was pushed to the ground by the dark energy, unable to do anything against it, as it fell on the floor, Houndoom falling above it.

"Use Flamethrower!"

Houndoom landed next to the fallen dragon, fire burning its mouth. Quickly, it found a spot where Giratina's scales weren't covering its skin - where Bronzong had broken some with its Gyro Ball, and launched its toxic flames.

The pain Giratina felt was something it hadn't felt for a long time - with no scales to protect it, Houndoom's flames burned its flesh, the toxins of the flames mixing with Roserade's poisons, as Houndoom leaped back, howling.

But before Giratina could get up, Lucas took out a Heavy Ball - he wasn't exactly sure if Giratina actually weighed anything, because it was a _ghost,_ but its body did seem pretty heavy regardless. Lucas threw the Heavy Ball to Houndoom, who bounced it off its head, hitting Giratina's tail.

In it went, and it shook once... twice...

And _broke._ The ghostly dragon burst out, in the sky once again. Giratina gave a soft growl, before roaring - but it wasn't its usual roar of anger. There _was_ anger, yes, but also _pain..._ it was being taxed quite a lot, and Lucas had thought that it might have been weakened enough.

But Giratina was still kicking about, and right now, creating more rocks. These ones flew directly down at Houndoom, preventing it from using them as stepping stones.

Houndoom ran, dodging as many as he could, but he was starting to tire - the Draco Meteor had done a lot to him.

Suddenly, Giratina vanished once more, and Houndoom growled softly, wondering where his enemy was.

"Houndoom... Giratina's going to reappear from nowhere. Be ready for it."

Lucas was still amazed by this trick of Giratina's - it was astounding and it seemed nigh uncounterable... but after seeing it use this trick three times, Lucas thought he may be able to do just that.

Cursed winds started to howl and Houndoom howled along with them, but the winds only blew harder, drowning out the hound's noises.

From the shadows above, Giratina appeared, diving for Houndoom and swinging its tail.

"Intercept it again with Crunch!"

Houndoom's teeth sunk into Giratina, but the renegade didn't even flinch - in fact, a menacing grin appeared on its face, because that's _exactly_ what it _wanted._ Its ghostly tendrils wrapped around Houndoom, trapping it.

"Bite through the tendrils!"

Houndoom chomped down on Giratina's tendrils, only for him to chomp through _nothing_ \- his teeth went right _through_ them!

Watching Houndoom's futile attempt, Giratina bashed its head into his chest over and over again, Houndoom howling in pain.

It tossed Houndoom into the air, catching it in its mouth, as it flew further and further up into the sky, an orange orb starting to form in its mouth once again.

Lucas gasped, realising what was going to happen, shouting as loud as he could. "Houndoom! Crunch, over and over, to free yourself!"

Houndoom desperately started biting into Giratina, but the dragon paid no notice, fighting through the pain and going higher and higher.

With a roar, Giratina released the Draco Meteor, _and_ _Houndoom,_ which flew high into the sky with Houndoom on _top_ of it.

For a moment, there was no noise, as the Draco Meteor soared into the air, Lucas's mouth agape.

Then... when it reached the peak of its height, Houndoom raised its head, and gave one final howl to the sky.

The Draco Meteor _exploded,_ and the sky filled with many meteors, bombarding the Distortion World again, with Houndoom crashing back down to the ground underneath one of them.

There were many burns and bruises on Houndoom, one of its horns even being twisted in from the meteors. Slowly, he got up, limping towards Lucas on his legs, before collapsing in front of him.

Lucas kneeled down, petting it on the head for a good job done. It whined a bit, angry at itself for not being able to serve its master effectively.

"I'm not your master. We're friends, equals. Don't be angry at yourself... you've done an excellent job."

Houndoom raised its head slightly, licking Lucas's face with its tongue, which was warm, though colder than usual. Lucas laughed and pressed his Poke Ball to his head, returning him.

Up in the sky, Giratina had heard what Lucas had said... it had never considered that. Never before had Giratina ever considered the idea that you could serve someone as an equal. It seemed... _contradictory._ Yet this Pokémon, and all the others before it all seemed to believe in that. Was that why they all listened to him? Because they were all equals? 

Giratina thought about the past... its fellow brethern...

They... they were like equals to it, weren't they? But then there was Arceus, who was always above them, and it was their _master._ That's what Giratina had despised the most about its entire situation.

For once, Giratina _didn't_ give its roar of victory, having forgotten it among its thoughts.

Lucas returned Houndoom's Pokeball to its place, thinking about his next move. Houndoom was certainly able to do a lot of damage to Giratina, but the renegade still seemed like it was going strong... or was it?

Lucas looked up at Giratina, who was resting on the ground above it, its chest heaving up and down heavily.

No... it _wasn't_ going strong, was it? Giratina was struggling more and more to escape from the Pokeballs, and now it had to rest to recover its energy. In addition to that, Roserade's poisons along with Houndoom's toxins seem to be chipping away at it as well, little by little.

Yes... Giratina was starting to run out of steam - it wouldn't be able to keep this up forever.

Lucas only had two Pokemon left now, but that didn't faze him too much - with any luck, they might be able to win this.

Now, it was time to bust out the big guns. This next Pokemon was definitely his most powerful one, and it had been some time since it had a proper battle... Lucas had a feeling it was gonna enjoy facing this opponent.

Out from the Pokeball burst something that made Cynthia's eyes widen - a _Garchomp._

It was the first time Cynthia had seen this Pokemon as a Garchomp - the last time she'd seen her, she was just a Gabite, and Lucas hadn't used his Garchomp against Cyrus, or his starter for that matter, so this was the first time she'd seen it as a Garchomp. Obviously, it must have evolved since then.

Garchomp roared as soon as it got out of its Pokeball, which made Lucas wonder if Giratina's habit of roaring was just a dragon thing in general, rather than something unique to it.

Of all his Pokemon, Garchomp was _definitely_ the most powerful one, being like a steamroller, and like most dragons, she could _very_ violent and hard to control. Funnily enough, she got on very well with Houndoom for that reason, but sometimes that just made things harder - it's a good thing he had Gardevoir to help keep both of them in check.

But while Houndoom was fiercely loyal to Lucas and would generally obey all his commands, Garchomp... was _not._ Most of the time she _would_ listen, but Garchomp could be a little hard headed at times... Lucas had found the best way was to try and appeal to her love for a fight, but sometimes that could be his undoing.

Garchomp roared at Giratina, giving one that could rival the renegade itself, which it returned. Giratina was actually looking forward to this - it got to fight one of its own kind... this would be fun.

However, Garchomp noticed that Giratina was already very injuried. She turned to Lucas, realising she was not the first to battle Giratina, pouting a claw forward as if to ask how many.

"Four. Gardevoir, Roserade, Bronzong and just now... Houndoom."

Garchomp raised both her arms in the air and roared at that. While she may have her disputes with the group at times, she _did_ respect them all, particularly Houndoom. On her honour as a dragon, she would avenge them all.

"Alright, start things off with Dragon Claw!"

Garchomp's right claw shined blue, while she rushed towards Giratina, leaping in the air. Giratina swiped, just as she did, matching her strength.

The two clashed multiple times, claw to claw, the raw strength of the two dragons echoing through the Distortion World.

Cynthia chuckled to herself - this Garchomp might not have been as strong as hers, but it was a sight to see it lock arms with the Lord of Antimatter itself. She wondered what her Garchomp might think of this... she chuckled again, realising that she'd find that out very soon at the Pokémon League.

The two locked claws, wrestling each other in a fight of dominance, both of their mouths fixed in intense concentration. With a menacing grin flashing on its face, Giratina swung its tail upwards, but Garchomp was quick and leaped upward, landing on Giratina's back. 

While still standing on Giratina, Garchomp continued to match blows with the other dragon, until Giratina pulled the rug under her feet - or to be more precise, the _tail,_ sending Garchomp plummeting.

Spreading her arms, she begun to fly, gliding across the air, but suddenly, a stone pillar emerged from underneath, smacking her in the stomach. With this impact, Garchomp fell, scraping against the ground.

With a surge of energy, Giratina caused the stone pillar to crumble, chunks of rock falling.

"Smash through them with Dragon Claw!"

Grinning, Garchomp moved from side to side, dodging the incoming rocks, while slicing straight through the ones she couldn't with her claws. 

With a glint of its eyes, Giratina opened its mouth, drawing on a different element than usual... being a dragon, Giratina didn't take too well to the cold, but it had learned to weaponise it to use against its fellow brethren, and against other dragons.

With a roar, Giratina sent a gust of freezing cold wind at Garchomp, who barely rolled out of the way quickly enough, only feeling a slight chill.

The ground beneath started to freeze - and Giratina realised that could work to its advantage. Taking a deep breath, Giratina emitted many more gusts of Icy Wind, each of which Garchomp dodged - it was agile, and Lucas had trained it to look out for its weaknesses.

But there was still something to gain from this - the ground had been _completely_ covered with _ice._

Giratina flew down, just above the ground, charging a Dragon Pulse, which Lucas and Garchomp both saw.

"Stop it with Dragon Rush!"

Garchomp held its two claws to the side, which glowed a light blue, before a dragon shaped energy enveloped Garchomp and she changed towards Giratina.

But at the last moment, she slipped on the ice, going to the side. Quick as a wink, Giratina swung on the spot, knocking her to the ground as it fired its Dragon Pulse directly at Garchomp, sending her sliding across the ice, sprawled across the ground.

Giratina flew across after her, aiming to slam against her.

"Smack Giratina with Iron Head!"

Still lying on the ground, Garchomp's head begin to shine, as it quickly thrust its head forward, slamming it into Giratina's and forcing it back a bit. Garchomp took the moment to stand back up, as Giratina rushed it once more, claws swinging full force, as the two resumed their clash.

But as they continued, it became apparent that Garchomp had the advantage, because of Giratina's condition - the Lord of Antimatter may have been stronger than Garchomp, but fighting four Pokemon had weakened it a fair bit, and Garchomp was no slouch either. 

Even though Giratina was able to block each swipe with its claws, she was pushing Giratina back a little with each one, and Giratina was struggling to keep up with her.

But once again, Giratina swung itself around, forcing Garchomp to move - and as she did, she slipped _again._ With a malevolent glint in its eyes, Giratina's tendrils wrapper around her, as Giratina opened its mouth and a burst of Icy Wind blew directly into Garchomp, freezing her solid.

It threw her into the air, as Giratina flew after it, its tail shining before it slammed her hard, the mass of ice crashing into the ground, freeing Garchomp.

She lifted herself up, almost slipping again... she really couldn't take ice too well... one blast and she was already shivering. She shook herself as Giratina looked on from above.

Lucas gritted his teeth... they needed to get rid of this ice. Garchomp could fight in the air, but it couldn't levitate indefinitely like Giratina... as long as that ice was there, she'd be at a disadvantage.

"Garchomp! It's time to break the _ice_ with Giratina!"

Garchomp turned and gave him an incredulous look, making Lucas sulk. "Oh, come on, that was a good one!"

She just continued to look in exasperation, while Giratina looked at them both, wondering what the hell they were both doing.

"Alright, fine. Use Earthquake to shatter the ice!"

Garchomp roared, lifting her right foot and slamming it down into the ice, setting off a tremor which spread through the rest of it, putting Giratina's tremors to shame.

The ice beneath her foot immediately shattered, and as the seismic waves spread out, so did the rest of the ice.

With it no longer covering the ground, she could move freely, and Giratina growled, having its advantage removed. It tried to reestablish it by preparing more bursts of Icy Wind, but Lucas wouldn't let it do that so easily now.

"Garchomp, throw ice at Giratina!"

Garchomp picked up some of the shards of ice left, throwing them at Giratina, who was forced to dodge.

"Into the sky! Smash Giratina with Dragon Claw!"

Garchomp leaped into the air, her arms outstretched as her claw glowed with draconic energy, slicing Giratina across its face.

While rubbing its mouth, Giratina couldn't help but be impressed by the intelligence shown by the Pokémon... no, not the Pokémon, but the _boy._

In a way, they were of a kind as well, weren't they? Giratina could see some measure of cunning within this boy, just like it, something it valued... but there was so much different as well. This boy didn't value strength... but did he?

What it was facing... this was strength, wasn't it? But it was a kind of strength Giratina was unfamiliar with... it seemed unnatural.

Ignoring this, Giratina rose into the air, its mouth glowing bright as an orange orb appeared inside once more.

Lucas curled his hands into fists, knowing there was nothing they could do to stop this... but could they avoid this?

With one of its trademark roars, Giratina released the Draco Meteor and it burst into many smaller ones, spreading across the Distortion World - and many were heading towards Garchomp.

"Protect yourself and head up to Giratina with Iron Head!"

Garchomp's head gleamed as she took into the sky, flying past the meteors and smashing straight through any she came across.

As Giratina saw this, it started firing Dragon Pulses, desperately trying to hit it, but Garchomp was experienced with this kind of thing, dodging them, and flying above Giratina.

"Now, Dragon Rush!"

Once again, Garchomp's body was enveloped with draconic energy, as she charged into Giratina, slamming into Giratina's chest, crashing into the ground.

Giratina shook itself and looked up, only to see Garchomp looming above it, with a smile on her face.

"Earthquake, over and over!"

Giratina realised what was going to happen, but it was too late to do anything, as Garchomp slammed her foot into its tail over and over, sending seismic waves directly _through_ the renegade, shaking it repeatedly.

Trying to retain as much focus as it could, Giratina opened its mouth for a burst of Icy Wind, but its attempt didn't go unnoticed by Lucas.

"Garchomp, stop! Come back!"

Garchomp leaped back to Lucas, just as Giratina unleashed another Icy Wind, but being far away, Garchomp was only slightly chilled.

In its pain, Giratina slumped over, trying to regain its strength, and in that moment, Lucas decided to try another capture, taking out a Timer Ball. The battle had raged on for some time, so this should be more effective now...

He threw the ball towards Garchomp, who bashed it off her claw, hitting Giratina's tendrils.

It shook once... twice... _three times..._

And it broke _again._

"No!" Lucas snapped his fingers in frustration - he really thought that would be it!

But Giratina didn't even roar when it broke free, unlike how it did prior. For once... Giratina was _scared,_ something it hadn't felt for a lomg time. That time had been close... _too_ close for it. It could feel itself getting weaker... it knew it had to end this.

Giratina charged straight for Garchomp, as she charged back with Dragon Rage, ready to butt heads once again, but as she met the other dragon, she went _through_ it, stumbling in confusion. Giratina turned on the spot as its tendrils wrapped around Garchomp's body and one of its claws.

"Slice through them all with Dragon Claw!"

With a smile, Garchomp raised her free claw and brought it down on the tendrils, cutting through them _all,_ as Giratina roared in anger and pain, having lost the most valuable part of its body.

With vicious strikes, Garchomp sliced into Giratina, picking it up and throwing it into the sky, as she leaped up and slammed it back down, diving straight for it.

"Now finish it off with Iron Head and Dragon Rush!"

As Garchomp continued her dive, she glowed a bright blue as her head hardened, preparing to finish it.

But at the last second, Giratina pulled out its trump card and disappeared into the shadows, Garchomp crashing _hard_ into the ground beneath. 

Before Lucas could even tell Garchomp what was going on, Giratina immediately remerged right behind her and wrapped itself around her, crushing it with its tail.

"Keep slicing away!"

Garchomp lifted her claws, aiming to bash the dragon wrapped around her, but suddenly Giratina's body began to harden and the blows did nothing it, all while Giratina started head butting it over and over.

Garchomp struggled to free herself, but Giratina's grasp was simply too tight, and the ghostly dragon blasted her with another blast of frigid wind, freezing her solid.

Giratina released her, moving back and preparing a Dragon Pulse to finish her off, Garchomp unable to do anything as she was completely frozen.

"Garchomp! Use an Earthquake through yourself to break free!"

Garchomp could barely hear her trainer through the ice, but was able to hear enough and the ground started to shake, as she shook with it. The ice began to crack as the tremors through Garchomp into the air, and when she landed, the ice all shattered.

But just as she was able to get back up, Giratina released the blast of draconic energy, heading straight for her.

The purple beam went straight into Garchomp, but with all her strength, she pushed back _against_ it, staying in place, but being damaged every second by the Dragon Pulse.

"Push through with Dragon Rush!"

Giving a low growl, Garchomp enveloped in blue energy and roared, pushing back and _through_ the Dragon Pulse. She forced her way through with each step, going against the beam little by little.

When she was close to Giratina, she gave one last push, going right through the blast and slashing Giratina across its chest and its face with each claw, the renegade stopping its blast in its pain.

But as soon as it stopped, Giratina's mouth glowed violet again and it fired yet another Dragon Pulse, which swept Garchomp right off her feet, pinning her to the ground, as Giratina rose up and dived back down, slamming her with its tail, sending her flying back.

As Garchomp tried to stand up, she fell to the ground, kneeling on one foot, as her arms feel to her sides. Many of her scales had broken wide open and its skin was cold and bruised.

Despite the pain she was in, she made to raise a claw, but Lucas stopped her before she could even try.

"That's enough, Garchomp! You did really well."

She turned and pointed a claw forward as if to say that this was her foe to defeat, her fight to finish.

"No. It's all of our fights."

Still, Garchomp forced herself up and took a step forward.

"Garchomp." Lucas said sternly.

She stopped and turned, staring at her trainer.

With a softer voice, Lucas looked into her eyes. "Why do you want to keep going?"

Garchomp didn't answer, so Lucas took an educated guess. "It's because you want to prove that you're strong enough, isn't it?"

Garchomp nodded her head, almost in embarrassment.

"I get it... but true strength isn't being able to punch someone really hard. It's knowing your own limits and when to stop. Strength doesn't come alone - it comes in numbers."

Garchomp didn't do anything for a few moments, at conflict with her inherently violent nature as a dragon, and what she'd learnt from her friends. Eventually, she nodded, realising what Lucas meant. Lucas took out her Pokeball and Garchomp pressed it with her claw, flying back into it.

Giratina was going to give its victory roar, but like with Houndoom, something stopped it... its thoughts. Again, Giratina was left to think about what Lucas had just said... true strength was knowing when to stop, true strength came in numbers...

But Giratina had always worked alone. That was its way of life, and it thrived that way. This boy... this boy was _delusional._ The only strength was in _might_ \- might makes right, and might _alone._

After all, Giratina had managed to take down five of this boy's Pokemon with its own might, hadn't it?

So why didn't it feel good now? Why didn't it feel the same satisfaction it always felt when it crushed someone, when it crushed the boy's earlier Pokemon. Why did the victories feel more and more hollow... as if _it_ was the one losing?

Giratina... didn't know. But it knew one thing. There was only one foe left in its path. One more warrior. 

Lucas looked into its eyes, and he knew... this was it. Giratina couldn't keep this up for much longer. This next Pokemon would decide it all. For the sake of this world, and his Pokemon, he couldn't fail.

Giratina seemed to communicate a simple thought towards Lucas... it was telling him to send out his last warrior.

Lucas smiled as he took hold of the final Pokeball.

It was a good thing then that this Pokemon was the one he felt most confident about.

It was strange, in a way. This Pokemon wasn't as wise as Gardevoir, or as fast as Roserade, or as tough as Bronzong, or as vicious as Houndoom or as powerful as Garchomp. It wasn't any of those things.

But it _was_ his most _trusted._ His starter, the Pokemon he'd had since the beginning of his journey...

He threw the Pokeball and out burst a tall penguin with horns shaped like a trident on his head... his _Empoleon._ He was Lucas's first Pokemon, the one that had been with him for the longest time, ever since Professor Rowan gave it to him. 

He had always been a proud Pokemon, and a good leader for the rest of his team as well. It was funny to see him do this as a Piplup, but as he evolved, he seemed to gain a lot more confidence.

Lucas and Empoleon had a close bond - sure, there were times where they may have had some difficulties, but through it all... Lucas trusted him with his life.

Empoleon took a few steps forward, and looked at Giratina, not unmoved in the slightest. 

Lucas uttered just a single word to it. "Ready?"

It was all that he needed to ask, because the bond between them ran deeper than for any of his other Pokémon. They'd been through so much, together... now it was time to show Giratina just what that meant.

Empoleon raised his left flipper and nodded in response.

Without any warning, Giratina opened its mouth and roared as ominous winds started to blow all throughout the Distortion World, trying to batter Empoleon. 

But it was a rather futile attempt, as Empoleon simply raised his flippers to guard himself against the gusts, standing his ground. Once Giratina stopped, Empoleon took another step forward, a proud look in his eyes.

"Blast it with Hydro Pump!"

Empoleon raised his flippers to the sides, as a powerful stream of water flew towards Giratina. Giratina blocked it with its tail, flying downwards as it fired a Dragon Pulse.

"Block with Steel Wing!"

Empoleon's flippers hardened, as he raised them upwards just as the violet beam hit him, only being pushed back a little.

Giratina flew down, swinging its body down on Empoleon, who simply blocked it with his flippers again, before swinging them upwards, flinging Giratina off. 

"Freeze it with Ice Beam!"

Empoleon closed its mouth and then fired a beam of frozen energy at Giratina. The dragon quickly flew up, but was grazed slightly by it, freezing some of its scales.

As Giratina ascended into the sky, it turned around and dived down again.

"Ice Beam, again!"

But Giratina was prepared this time, and the Ice Beam right through it as Giratina turned incorporeal. A blue sphere of densely packed aura formed in its mouth, as it fired it straight at Empoleon.

"Empoleon, dodge it!"

Empoleon leaped into the air, the Aura Sphere whizzing past, but suddenly as if it like a homing missile, it turned around and headed straight back for Empoleon, slamming straight into his back. Empoleon crashed into the ground, taken off guard.

Giratina, seeing the chance, opened its mouth once more as it began to spark with electricity, before a stream of lightning crackled out, aiming for the penguin.

"Dodge with Aerial Ace!"

Empoleon glowed a soft white, as it quickly leapt to the side, spinning in the air. Giratina started launching more Thunderbolts, even trying to lead its shots, but Empoleon was just too quick.

Just as fast as Giratina could blink, Empoleon disappeared, moving so fast that Giratina didn't see it jump up behind it, before diving with Aerial Ace and landing a swift strike with its flippers. 

Empoleon landed on the ground just as Giratina did, both of them getting up. Giratina created many boulders to appear from thin air, sending them all on top of Empoleon, but he smashed through them all, and charged towards Giratina.

Empoleon swung its right flipper, hardened by Steel Wing, but it went straight through Giratina, as it swung its tail. But Lucas had been prepared for that, having seen Giratina do that before.

"Grab its tail!" 

Empoleon quickly did so, slamming Giratina hard against the ground, over and over.

"Use Hydro Pump!"

Empoleon fired a heavy blast of water at Giratina, who was washed away by the powerful stream, pinned down, but Giratina shook itself before it crackled and electricity burst from all sides. 

Unfortunately for Empoleon, he didn't notice this until it was too late. The water conducted the electricity right into Empoleon, who sparked and cried in pain as the electricity coursed right into it. 

Empoleon collapsed, as Giratina flew forward, slashing him over and over.

"Empoleon! Block with Steel Wing!"

But Giratina immediately grabbed both of Empoleon's flippers and _pulled_ them to the sides, as it opened its mouth for another Thunderbolt.

Lucas balled his hand into a fist... Giratina had Empoleon pinned down, and unable to use his flippers. It would probably be expecting an Ice Beam or Hydro Pump and would just make itself incorporeal... but that was just it, wasn't it? 

Giratina, despite acting as violently as it did, had to have at least some measure of logic to fight as ruthlessly as it did. But it couldn't expect the unexpected, and that was something Lucas could deliver in spades. He had to think of something different, and fast. 

Then, an idea clicked.

"Spear Giratina with your horns!"

Empoleon raised its head, its trident like horns shining, as it thrust them straight into Giratina. The ghostly dragon certainly wasn't expecting that and Empoleon's horns punctured straight into its skin, some blood dripping from it.

In the pain, Giratina couldn't do anything to prevent Empoleon from raising his head, while it was still stuck on it, before he swung it forward, Giratina flying off in that direction. 

Mid flight, Giratina corrected itself and launched the Thunderbolt it had prepared, but with more time and Empoleon's flippers freed, Lucas could mount a defence.

"Ground it with Steel Wing!"

Empoleon's flippers shined for a second, before he drove them into the ground, just as Giratina's Thunderbolt hit them. The flippers conducted the electricity straight into the ground where it dissipated harmlessly, doing fairly little to Empoleon.

When Giratina stopped, realising the futility of the attack, Empoleon leaped into the air, preparing to ram Giratina with its horns again, so it raised a claw to slam it back down.

Lucas saw its claw glinting though, and quickly relayed his command.

"Aerial Ace!"

Just as Giratina swung its claw, Empoleon moved so fast, it seemed to disappear again. Giratina held its claw in annoyance, being on the receiving bed of its own trick.

As soon as Empoleon stopped moving and stood still, Giratina charged straight for it.

"Meet it head on with Return!"

Empoleon glowed a bright white this time, and dived down with Aerial Ace, surrounded by the energy of Return.

The penguin and dragon clashed head on, the ensuing shockwave ripping through the entire Distortion World. 

Not having any means to sustain continuous flight like Giratina, Empoleon fell to the ground, as Giratina dived down, slashing it with its claws. Although Empoleon did get cut a few times, he eventually caught on and started blocking it with his flippers, all while falling.

Empoleon landed back on ground, Giratina level with it, as it aimed to wrap itself around Empoleon and squeeze the life out of him like it had done with Garchomp.

"Quickly, duck underneath it!"

Empoleon quickly lowered his head, narrowly avoiding the dragon before thrusting its head up again and spearing Giratina once more, the dragon being stuck on top.

Despite the pain it knew this would cause, Giratina ripped _itself_ off of his horns, before heavy winds started to blow rocks towards Empoleon, pushing him back. 

"Stick your flippers into the ground!"

Like he had done to ground the Thunderbolt, Empoleon drove his flippers into the ground, sticking him in place, as his mouth chilled to a freeze, launching an Ice Beam straight to Giratina.

It was a direct impact, and the ray of cold hit the floating dragon, encasing so much of Giratina in ice that it was too heavy to fly, falling to the ground with a thud and the ice shattering.

Giratina slowly rose, the cold having thrown its senses off, before it engulfed itself in flames to warm up.

It only had one more trick up its sleeve that it hadn't used yet, and it was getting to its limit...

Giratina's mouth opened as a bright, white orb began to form inside of it - definitely something powerful, Lucas thought.

But during this time, the ominous winds continued to blow in full force, now blowing rocks that Giratina was summoning towards Empoleon, bashing into him over and over. While Empoleon wasn't losing any ground, he couldn't gain any either while the winds were in full force. 

Once again, Lucas had no idea what to do... Giratina would again be expecting an attack at range, so that wouldn't do anything to it.

"Empoleon! Power through with Return!"

A bright light surrounded Empoleon, as he slowly started to push its way against the winds, taking any rocks heading towards him literally head on.

Slowly, step by step, he inched his way toward Giratina, but it was too late - Giratina's mouth curled in its signature malicious grin, as a powerful beam of energy flew straight out of Giratina's mouth, and crashed right into Empoleon.

The explosion was unlike anything seen before - light filled the Distortion World, dispelling the darkness for just a moment.

When the light cleared away and the darkness settled back in, everyone was surprised to see that Empoleon, despite being heavily injured, was still standing, his chest slowly going up and down.

Even Giratina was awed at this spectacle of endurance, and resolved to end this even quicker.

Though exhausted from firing the Hyper Beam and strained itself, Giratina gathered its energy and charged straight for Empoleon, the latter barely having enough time to block with its flippers as Giratina crashed into it head on.

"Hydro Pump!"

Empoleon launched a blast of water straight into Giratina's face, but it was rather weak, and Giratina powered right through it, slamming Empoleon into the air, as Giratina rose behind it.

"Slice it with Steel Wing!"

Empoleon's right flipper hardened as it did a backhand slice, aiming for Giratina's neck, but just as it did, Giratina disappeared into the shadows.

As Empoleon landed, it looked around for the dragon, not panicking but still concerned. 

"Empoleon, look out... keep your eyes open for Giratina."

Suddenly, Giratina emerged from the sides, lunging for Empoleon.

"There!"

Empoleon spin around and thrust his flipper forward, but again, it went straight through Giratina, as the dragon passed right through him. It turned on the spot, and grabbed Empoleon sideways in its mouth, heading up.

"Empoleon! Pry yourself free!"

Empoleon tried to do so using its flippers, but Giratina tightened its hold, causing immense pain to itself because of its broken teeth. Still, Giratina soared higher and higher, before looping in the air and heading straight down. 

Empoleon tried harder and harder to free itself, but with no luck, as Giratina's mouth crackled and it discharged a massive bolt of electricity, freeing Empoleon, and sending it crashing into the floor, badly beaten and unable to move.

"Empoleon! NO!" 

Lucas rushed towards Empoleon, desperately shaking him, but to no avail... was it all over?

From above, Giratina watched impassively... Lucas couldn't believe it. After all the effort his Pokemon had put in... it was over just like that?

But suddenly, both Lucas and GIratina heard a noise... it was _Empoleon._

Both of their eyes widened as something _strange_ begun to happen - Lucas had seen it before a few times... when Empoleon had been really pushed to its limits, _this_ happened...

A veil of water began to surround Empoleon as it slowly got up, surprising everyone, Giratina most of all.

The water whipped around Empoleon, stronger and stronger, as it stared Giratina straight into its eyes.

Suddenly, the veil of water burst outwards, as Empoleon gave a war cry.

Giratina couldn't believe it. This... this was impossible! All that, and it still hadn't managed to destroy it? What kind of... what kind of power was this? 

It puzzled Giratina for just a second, before it realised what the answer must be... so, _this_ is the strength the boy kept talking about.

With a renewed flare and a passion it had never felt before, Giratina roared into the sky above. At lightning speed, it fired another Thunderbolt, but Empoleon moved out of the way at breakneck pace with Aerial Ace.

"Return!"

Before Giratina could even see where he was, it was hit full force in the stomach by Empoleon's attack. 

Immediately, it started thrashing around, smashing into Empoleon a few times, before furiously slashing away at it, over and over.

Empoleon couldn't do anything to stop the relentless barrage - but Lucas _could._

"Freeze its claw with Ice Beam!"

Empoleon quickly fired a small blast of ice at one of Giratina's claws, freezing it solid.

Giratina immediately stopped in surprise, but Empoleon struck after before Lucas could give his command as he knew exactly what to do.

Empoleon slashed right _through_ the claw with Steel Wing, slicing it off of Giratina, where it broke on impact with the floor. 

With a roar of anger over having lost another one of its appendages, Giratina slammed its tail into Empoleon sending it back whilst it soared into the sky.

It was time to end this, once and for all. There was no escaping this one.

Giratina prepared another Hyper Beam, as the ominous winds howled stronger than ever, fixing Empoleon in place.

"Empoleon, prepare a Hydro Pump!"

What was the boy thinking? It was just go incorporeal, and it would just be a wasted effort. But for some reason, Empoleon did not fire the Hydro Pump, simply storing it in his mouth.

It mattered not - with a roar, Giratina fired the Hyper Beam, with a magnificent flash of light.

"Now! Fire it behind you!"

Empoleon turned around and fired the Hydro Pump, propelling itself forward at extreme speed, just as the Hyper Beam teared straight through where it was.

When the light cleared, Giratina looked around trying to spot Empoleon, but it couldn't... had it finally destroyed it?

"Into the sky!"

As Giratina turned in shock, it saw Empoleon down below, soaring to the left, propelling itself with Hydro Pump, before he suddenly stopped the stream of water. Empoleon pointed his mouth downward, firing another Hydro Pump at the ground, which sent him flying upwards... straight towards it!

But in its exhaustion, there was nothing Giratina could do to stop Empoleon from slamming right into it with another Return, as it went plummeting. As Empoleon headed down, he swung his flipper at Giratina, who managed to turn incorporeal fast enough. He swung again, and Giratina quickly slipped into the shadows.

"Now!"

As Giratina thrust from the shadows, Empoleon quickly dodged mid air with Aerial Ace, heading straight for Giratina, as it slipped into the shadows _again,_ immediately re-emerging and trying to slam into Empoleon once more.

But Empoleon fired another burst of water downwards, sending it upwards and Giratina into a pillar of water.

In the sky above Giratina, Empoleon could barely hear Lucas's next words, but smiled when he did.

"Let's finish this! Steel Wing and Aerial Ace!"

Empoleon knew exactly what his trainer was thinking and stretched both flippers to the sides as they hardened. He dived straight down to Giratina with Aerial Ace, spinning in mid air like some vicious torpedo, and just as Giratina saw it out of the corner of its eye, Empoleon rammed into it, sending the renegade crashing into the ground.

Lucas smiled... it was time to finish this, for the sake of everyone in the world.

"HYDRO PUMP!"

As Empoleon headed down, it opened its mouth and with its loudest cry yet, fired one last Hydro Pump.

Exhausted, battered and wounded harder than it had ever been before, Giratina could do nothing more but look at the marine blue stream heading towards it, as it was completely engulfed by the wave of water, pinned down by it, unable to move.

When the stream finally passed over it, barely clinging on to any energy, Giratina slumped over, finally defeated. 

Lucas and Empoleon just stood there, in equal disbelief that they'd actually managed to do it... they breathed a heavy sigh of relief, when they realized it was finally over. 

But... Giratina wasn't completely knocked out. It lay there, in deep thought... how did this happen? It was strong... it had strength, didn't it? It was stronger than all of the boy's Pokémon... so how did it lose? How did it, the mighty Lord of Antimatter suffer defeat? 

Yet the answer was clear to Giratina... because it was _wrong._ Giratina... was _never_ stronger than them to begin with. There was a power... a power it couldn't quite understand, but this power was... it was stronger than anything it had seen. It was... the bond between the boy and his Pokémon. 

There was a strength in that, one which Giratina had never seen, never felt itself and.... it wanted to know _more._ It wanted to know, to understand... what was that strength?

Lucas and Empoleon's celebration was cut short as they turned in horror, hearing a soft growl as Giratina raised its head and rose into the air once more.

They both gasped in shock - what was this Pokémon _made_ of?! It just kept going, on and on... was it invincible?!

Giratina sluggishly flew towards them, as Empoleon placed one flipper in front of Lucas, and the other in the air, ready to fight before Giratina reached them, staring them both down. 

This felt familiar to Lucas, and he realised... this was exactly the same position he'd found Giratina in, except now Empoleon was with him.

But for some reason, Giratina didn't do anything. It just floated there, staring, unmoved, like it was when Lucas first saw it. 

Empoleon lowered both its flippers, not knowing what to do. He looked at Lucas, who simply looked at Giratina, realising what it was doing.

Giratina... was _yielding._

It didn't make any move to attack, or defend itself. It was... giving up.

Because now... Giratina had seen a strength that it had never seen before. Something stronger than anything else, one that it was only beginning to understand. Though unsure, it wanted to learn more about it... and this seemed like the best way.

Slowly reaching into his pocket, Lucas pulled out a Poke Ball - a regular one. Nothing special about it at all. Nothing that made it more effective than any other one.

Giratina looked at it, but made no indication about what it thought. Despite that, Lucas could tell it approved... because it was a _choice._ It was _Giratina's_ choice.

Taking a deep breath, Lucas threw the Poke Ball, which Giratina made no attempt to dodge. It hit it on the top of its head, and in it flew.

The ball landed on the ground, shaking once... twice... _three_ times...

And just like that, Giratina was caught. The ball closed with a click, and stopped shaking completely.

Lucas and Empoleon both stood there in complete shock for a few moments, just trying to comprehend what just happened. 

"WOO!" Lucas shouted in joy, hugging Empoleon tightly.

Cynthia and Cyrus both looked up in astonishment and surprise, each of them in disbelief. Cyrus couldn't believe it - what was this boy thinking? He was dooming them all, including himself! And how did he managed to defeat Giratina?! How had the shadow Pokémon yielded to _him?!_

And as for Cynthia? A smile emerged on her face, amazed at what Lucas had managed to show Giratina.

Slowly, Lucas reached down and picked up the Poke Ball, the weight of it seeming all the more apparent to him.

It seemed to resonate with a strange energy to him, and he thought he heard something on the wind... the voice of the renegade Pokemon.

_"I join you... as an equal."_

Lucas nodded, understanding what Giratina wanted. It didn't want a master - it had never wanted one, because a master chained it down. 

It wanted an equal, someone who had power that it respected, and someone who respected its power in return.

Lucas thought hard, about all his different Pokemon and their personalities...

His calm Gardevoir... his lively Roserade... his stoic Bronzong... his loyal Houndoom... his fierce Garchomp... and his trustworthy Empoleon.

He chucked to himself, realising how different they all were, and yet... all of them were equals to each other, and to him.

No matter how different how different each of them were, no matter who they are, or what they did, each and every one of them were an equal. 

He clutched the Poke Ball, with a smile on his face, thinking about the future. 

If Giratina wanted a group of equals... 

It was gonna fit in _just_ fine.

**Author's Note:**

> Well, this was an experience. So yeah, I wanted to try something new, for a friend, and well, here we are. Giratina is one of their favourite Pokemon, hence why I did this fic about it, plus Giratina's just interesting in general. 
> 
> I am very interested in Giratina's psyche - I mean, it's been stuck in the this void for so long, and part of me wonders what it's like. It doesn't seem evil - violent and ruthless, but not evil.
> 
> I think Giratina was kinda misunderstood by Arceus - it doesn't like the idea of having to bend over to someone else, but it's willing to serve others as equals. It isn't willing to serve as a lesser. But I dunno, that's just my take on it.
> 
> Anyway, as I'm sure you've likely guessed, the six Pokémon Lucas uses are the same six I used during my first playthrough of Platinum, and the genders were the same as well, though I did alter the movesets for the sake of making the story interesting (who uses Hydro Pump instead of Surf?).
> 
> If I remember correctly, they were an Empoleon named Emperor (very creative), a Roserade named Rafflesia (I thought that was clever), a Gardevoir named Paula (because of course I did), a Bronzong named Steeler (I... don't even know why I named it that), a Garchomp makes Freya (after FF9's Freya Crescent, since the Gible was female and Garchomp's described as flying a lot), and a Houndoom named Cerberus (very original).
> 
> So yeah. It was certainly interesting to write this, as I've never written a Pokémon fic before, let alone a Pokémon battle, but I hope I did well. I should say though that I will likely not be writing any more Pokémon fics, since this one was quite hard and long itself, though the length is probably my fault. Mind you, I don't regret writing this by any means.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my own little take on this battle, and to the person I wrote this for - you know who you are, I hope you enjoyed this as well.


End file.
